capture the animal. residents are waking up frightened as we hear the desperate calls just after the attack. >> the real top gun, she's the highest ranking woman at the pentagon ever, get this, she's also the inspiration for tom cruise's girlfriend in "top gun." what's real and what's fiction? >> your "new day" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. welcome to "new day," it is wednesday, december 4th, 6:00 in the east. we have some breakthroughs in the new york train derailment investigation. officials say no brake problems were found and we've learned the engineer admitted to nodding off moments before the accident. also, an unusual twist. the way that admission came out has now become part of the investigation. cnn's nic robertson is in the bronx this morning. let's start there, nic.

>> reporter: the union, the association of commuter rail employees turned up representative showed up after the ntsb press conference, discussed details about what the train driver, train engineer had said and the ntsb says this is breaking the confidentiality agreement, this is one of the unions working with them on this investigation and that breaking this confidentiality means they will have to be excluded from this investigation. we heard from the lawyer as well. who says his -- says that the engineer had a good night's sleep before the accident. >> we got a page entrain wreck, five cars on its side. >> reporter: we're hear for the first time from the firefighter as they arrived on the scene of the deadly train derailment in the bronx. this morning, new detalls about the man at the controls. the train's engineer, william, billy rockefeller, his union

representative saying he was nodding off and caught himself too late. >> he's extremely distraught over it and he feels for the families. >> reporter: in the minutes after the derailment, according to a senior law enforcement source, rockefeller told first responders, going along and i'm in a days, i don't know what happened. ntsb investigators say that ten-year veteran driver was on the second day of a five-day shift. >> the day was a typical nine-hour day. these days were routine days. there's every indication he would have had time to get full restorative sleep. >> reporter: his lawyer says he went to bed at 8:30 and got up at 3:30 a.m. that his client had a good night's sleep and is cooperating in every day. >> i think it takes a strong man to come down and be honest. that's what billy's doing. >> reporter: on the question of the brakes, rockefeller had initially claimed, according to

a source, that they didn't work. >> we determined that the metro north mechanical department performed a proper brake test prior to the accident train leaving the station. and there were no anomalies noted. >> reporter: the federal rail administration is expressing serious concerns about metro north's recent series of accidents. in a letter to the head of the mta saying, four serious accidents in less than seven months is simply unacceptable. now, the engineer's union rep and his lawyer both say he's been in an emotional condition and state. his lawyer saying this was purely, purely an accident. kate? >> all right, nick, thank you so much. the governor saying that that rail system will be mostly back up to normal service today. we'll be following that, of course. now to developments in the president's push to get his signature health care law back on track. a three-week campaign kicked off this week aiming to encourage

americans, particularly young americans, to sign up. this as former president bill clinton defends his controversial comments about the law last month. senior white house correspondent brianna keilar is live with much more. how is this re-introduction of obama care going so far, brianna? >> reporter: the white house seems to think it's going well so far. but they also acknowledge the real proof is going to be in the december enrollment numbers. that's really their focus now that they're turning the page from the troubled website. >> one road block down, partially anyway. but the path ahead is still uphill. >> every day i check to make sure that it's working better. and, you know, we've learned not to make wild promises about how perfectly smooth it's going to be at all times. >> reporter: president obama kicking off another push to sell his signature health care law to a skeptical public. >> i need you to spread the word about the law, about its benefits, about its protections, about how folks can sign up.

tell your friends, tell your family. >> reporter: as the white house spends the next three weeks trying to convince americans there's more to obama care than the fumbled rollout, a powerful ally talked to cnn espanol. >> i don't think you can find anybody harder that went out of his way to explain the bill more than i did. >> reporter: he's smoothing over tension lingering from this. >> the president should honor the federal government made to those people and let them keep what they got. >> reporter: when he publicly urged obama last month to keep his promise about his health care law. for clinton, the issue hits close to home. >> i have a lot at stake here personally for the work i've done for health care and the work i tried to support. and hillary does, too. we've been working on this health care thing for 20 years. >> reporter: president obama will be speaking at a youth

summit on the affordable care act. chris, as you know, young people are key to this. they're si their signing up, is going to offset, that's the plan anyway, older americans who are more costly to care for. >> absolutely. brianna keilar at the white house this morning. another situation for you to watch this morning, a winter storm coming on strong, turning the country white. it's already dropped heavy snow on parts of the midwest and rockies. 30 inches fell on idaho tuesday. let's get to meteorologist indra petersons. watching this move across the country. here it comes, indra. >> unfortunately the snow will not be the worst thing we'll be seeing as we now have the threat of freezing rain in the forecast, especially as we get in through tomorrow. the snow alone, tons of it, heavy amounts here and more still on the way. good maybe 18 inches in colorado still expected over towards minnesota. we could still see another foot of snow here. keep in mind we're talking about winds, poor visibility as people navigate the icy roads in the region. here's something we need to talk about.

what happens as the storm continues to push east? let's take a look at it right now. notice, this is thursday, as we get to noon or so, notice the pink. that's a wintry mix. we're concerned that the wintry mix will be freezing rain. i'll take you farther into thursday and notice we see that line extending further. the farther north you are, likely to be sleet, not as hazardous as when we talk about the threat of freezing rain. friday, we still have the concern of this storm really producing dangerous conditions. as far as what amounts? there's a lot of variety among the weather offices. the concern is falling trees and power outages as we go through the weekend, guys. >> all right, thanks so much, indra. thanks for looking at that top story in the weather. let's take a look at the headlines. u.s. ties with china are put to the test today. joe biden visiting with chinese

president xi jinping. david mckenzie is in beijing following biden's visit. >> reporter: michaela, it was a red carpet welcome for the u.s. vice president but definitely tensions are high in this region. he'll be meeting with xi jinping, china's president, trying to diffuse attention. they announce an air defense zone, the u.s. saying a unilateral move that could lead to a wider conflict between these two economic power houses. biden will have to walk a tight rope in pressuring the chinese to dial back some of the rhetoric but also can't push too far. it's unlikely they'll go away from this zone, which they announced around two weeks ago. michaela? >> david, important meetings to be sure. thank you. the white house is prepared to negotiate a limited nuclear enrichment program for iran as

long as the country holds up to its end of an international deal to curtail it's nuclear capabilities under rigorous global monitoring. the white house cautioned the program applies only to the nation's peaceful energy needs. the statement comes days after iranian president hassan rouhani announced to plan to go ahead with the program. witnesses say a pair crashed into one another, about 300 feet up, collapsing their parachutes and sending them plummeting to the ground. a third skydiver was injured but there's no word about the exact type of injuries sustained. accused lax shooter is charged with killing one tsa agent and wounding two others in that brazen attack at the airport last month. tuesday, prosecutors asked to hold ciancia without bond. the charges carry a possible death sentence.

well, the third time proved to be a charm for the space x falcon 9 rocket, blasting off successfully tuesday. the satellite essentially will park its first commercial satellite 22,000 miles up on a stable spot above earth. this launch could be a game changer. the $60 million price tag is tens of millions of dollars cheaper than previous launches, backed by the u.s. government. it really is an interesting thing to see, interesting to see how it will change the aerospace game. >> it might be the way they have to go, considering where the budgets are going. >> private industry science. >> you have a new one. >> you got it in. >> very good. coming up next on "new day," newtown, connecticut, bracing for the release of 911 tapes from the deadly school shooting that happened almost one year ago. we'll have more on what you can expect. and bill clinton's spreading out the tea leaves again. what did he say about his wife hillary and the chances that she'll run? the chances that she won't run?

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welcome back to "new day." those horrific calls so many people do not want to hear, after a long legal battle, the 911 tapes from the sandy hook elementary school massacre will be released to the public this afternoon. a connecticut judge ruled the tapes should be released,

upholding an earlier decision that said there's no legal basis to keep them private. pamela brown is here with much more on this. pamela, what are you expecting to hear today? >> well, today the tapes are expected to be released at 2:00 p.m. eastern time, kate. the attorneys for the town of newtown will be releasing the recordings on a cd. they're going to be about 25 minutes in length rather. they will include seven calls, the longest call to newtown police was from custodian rick thorn on the phone with a dispatcher for more than ten minutes. important to note here, these are just the 911 calls made to newtown police. the state police 911 calls will not be released today. >> and there has been a long fight over whether to release or not to release. so what's the difference now? how did this all round up. >> you're right. there's been an ongoing battle over this, kate. the state's attorney has been withholding the 911 calls saying they will cause too much anguish for the victims and the victim's

families. the ap challenged that. in september, the freedom of information -- a judge ruled that in fact backinging up the commission's ruling that they should be released. the judge said the delaying of the release of the audio recordings particularly where the legal justification to keep them confidential is lacking, only serves to fuel speculation about an undermine confidence in our law enforcement officials. but of course the court also recognizes what a difficult and sensitive situation this is. >> absolutely. i mean they can understand if this would be devastating for the families to have to relive this yet again but we are coming upon the anniversary. have you gotten reaction from any of the families involved? >> some of the families, include victoria soto's relatives, a teacher that was killed have posted on facebook saying we feel like our privacy has been invaded again. your spotlight will fade, ours unfortunately will remain. people who do not need to hear

the audio from the day vicki died will get their sick obsession fulfilled all due to your decision. this is seemingly pointed at the judge and the commission. but this is devastating for these families, very difficult. especially with the anniversary as you noted right around the corner. >> you have the legal, the freedom of information issue and then you have this personal issue that the soto family lays out there. difficult all around. i think we can understand. >> absolutely. >> thank you so much, pamela. money time. christine romans is here. let's start with stocks, christine. what happened to the rally? no santa claus. >> don't blame me. three days down in a row for stocks, something that hasn't happened since september. the dow down 94 points, nasdaq, s&p also lower. the dow shaved 182 points off its record rally. the dow is still up 21% this year. nasdaq up 34%. s&p is up 26%. barely a pause all year, still okay to look at your 401(k) statement. auto sales firing on all

cylinders, good numbers from gm, ford and chrysler. gm sales up 14%. big black friday promotions really revved up showroom traffic and you can see it in those numbers. people feeling confident to go out and buy a car for the first time in a long time. the judge ruling the motor city can proceed with its bankruptcy, the largest city bankruptcy in u.s. history. this opens the door for detroit to cut billions in payments owed to city employees, retirees, investors and creditors. no municipal bankruptcy has resulted in involuntary cuts to pension benefits. detroit could be the first. watch this space. >> the rebirth of detroit. detroit will be back. >> appreciate it, christine. >> you're welcome. a massive manhunt, a bear hunt under way in florida after a bear mauled a woman in her neighborhood. she was out having a walk. we have the 911 calls after the attack. we'll take you through it. and president bill clinton speaking up on several topics.

would he support joe biden in 2016 if that joe biden beat out his wife, being bill clinton's wife for the democratic nomination? our political gut check coming up next. i read something about the pope today. pope francis was talking to some parishioners at a church in rome over the weekend about jobs he had before he was pope. he swept floors. he worked in the chemistry lab and best of all, he was a bouncer at a nightclub in buenos aires. that is some career. he went from deciding who gets into a nightclub to deciding who gets into heaven.

we're aig. and we're here. to help secure retirements and protect financial futures. to help communities recover and rebuild. for companies going from garage to global. on the ground, in the air, even into space. we repaid every dollar america lent us. and gave america back a profit. we're here to keep our promises. to help you realize a better tomorrow. from the families of aig, happy holidays.

welcome back to "new day." let's start off now with our political gut check. bill clinton is talking about. let's talk about a little more than a week from now until congress leaves for holiday recess, marking a crucial deadline in budget negotiations. will congress bargain on a deal by then? do you have the holiday spirit? here with us for details is john avlon, cnn political analyst and the executive editor of the daily beast, as we like to call the greninch who stole politics >> i love it. >> let's talk about clinton in one second. i want to talk about the december 13th deadline, the budget negotiators are supposed to come together and reach a budget deal. no word on any deal yet. our capitol hill unit has some reporting they're to a point where they're talking about outlining the end game.

how, if they reach a deal, it would get through the house and senate. are you optimistic? what are you hearing? >> i'm cautiously optimistic. there's a reason cynicism passes for wisdom in washington. they've been keeping a tight lid on their negotiations. they haven't tried to get ahead of themselves. there have been so many failures to date. they realize if they fail this time, not only will the painful, stupid sequester cuts take place but it takes us on a path to another shutdown. the pressure is on. we are days away. finally there's real attention. there is common ground. there is common ground on tax reform. on some form of military discretionary cuts. this 1.2 trillion is painful and stupid and they want a way out of it. there's a lot of pressure on both sides. >> i say secret negotiations, good.

i say them not talking about it, better. i think encouraging this process to continue, because this is the way they have to work down there, best. i say this is the most hopeful situation i've seen down there in 2 1/2 months. >> really? >> they're doing it the right way. they might not get to where they need to get to, and that happens but they're doing it the right way. >> the range of options is out there. the possibilities of how to cut the deficit, that's all been discussed over and over ad nauseam again. if we talk about spectrum sales one more time, i think people will start passing out. it's all about the political will. is the political will there this time? >> the calculation has been the pain will inspire political will. we haven't seen this before. every time people say it's going to be fine, we're not going to have a shutdown or play chicken with the fiscal cliff and we do. here's what's perhaps a little bit different, the fact they're negotiating in good faith in private is good. the question will be can republicans accept any revenues

from closed loopholes or is that off hand? >> they need to cut. they're on solid ground in terms of wanting to cut. they voted for the sequester. that was a mistake. i like the quiet. >> reality check here, both the democrat and republican version are austerity budgets, the question to what degree. >> hopefully they do the smart thing administratively and give the power of cutting back to the agencies. these guys shouldn't be figuring what cuts to make. >> that's their job though. >> let the agencies figure it out. >> within their budget. >> they know better. >> tim cole who is on the committee, he had a good quote, he's candid reporters and close with john boehner. he wrote, they're not on the grand bargain scale but let's hit singles around here for a while. we don't need to swing for the fences. our batting average isn't very good, let's get on base. >> honest to god right. don't go for the grand slam when you're batting .018.

>> an important time to watch. important time to watch for the american people. now you'll see who busts this process. you'll see who doesn't do what they need to do to compromise. you'll see it. it's a fresh start in terms of judging who's playing the game the right way. >> you point out, republicans are feeling the heat and the pressure. in the meeting of the republicans, they're talking about if the deal doesn't happen, they'll push something through short term. they can't be home, facing their constituents and saying we're threatening another government shutdown. >> the most important stat outside that looming reality, least popular congress on record, least productive congress on record. >> some argue it's better that they're not productive. >> i will fight that person to the death. >> let's talk about bill clinton. he sat down with an interview with cnn espanol's juan carlos, a great guy. he was talking about obama care and his wife. of course the question of 2016 came up. listen to this.

>> i don't know. and i think, and she believes, that the country should spend at least another year working very hard on the problems we have. i think it's a big mistake, you know, constant four-year pair of pathetic cam panes, not good for america. >> does he have a point? >> coming from the man who invented the perpetual campaign. not dealing with the here and now is part of the problem. when he's being coy about hillary, look, that's what you say until a final decision has been made. you look at actions speak louder than words on this front. >> can't judge him on that front. he's right about the full campaign. it's interesting. he pulled back, tried to clarify on the obama care stuff. saying i supported him the whole time. >> not politically motivated. he said that. >> everybody judging do we believe that or not. i think it's an example of

something else, something bad, an example of how toxic the game has got. even the wizard himself, bill clinton, can't say anything to the satisfaction of the media and to the parties who want to just stay bitter that even what he said has been taken and run with, even the wizard got caught up in the game. >> even the wizard got caught up in the game. this is unprecedented territory, though. the line the clintons have to walk with being potentially a successor, associating themselves with the administration, but not too much so they can represent change. even for a master of politics, this is a difficult line to walk. you can't overthink it and parse every statement bill clinton makes. we know the larger trends taking place, the clintons aren't going to walk away from history. that's not their type. >> i'm going to call an audible here. i would like to point it out? do we have the grinch who stole politics? it's coming, they're telling me it's coming but it's not coming. it's not coming. >> meantime, look at this. >> in the meantime i wanted to show you, we made up something

funny about john. we did? show it. don't need me. the grinch of politics, john avlon. >> love it. >> bring better news in politics. >> i see you with the little doggy. he wants to do the right thing. >> john has potential. >> max. >> let me save you, john avlon. i'll go to the headlines. >> god bless you. >> let's take a look at the latest news right now at 6:30, 0 minutes after the hour in the east. the engineer in sunday's deadly train crash apparently started to drift off before the accident. william rockefeller told officials he had nodded off and caught himself too late. meantime, officials found nothing wrong with the train's brakes. the engineer's union has been taken off the investigation investigation for leaking rockefeller's testimony.

u.s. military stopped ground shipments out of afghanistan all in an effort to ensure the safety of drivers and contractors following protests in pakistan over u.s. drone strikes. this affects the outgoing shipment of equipment as the military winds down its combat mission in afghanistan. the affected route accounts for the vast majority of ground traffic of u.s. military cargo through pakistan. new details shedding light on why u.s. military vet merrill newman was detained in north korea. state media there releasing an e-mail apparently written by numten six months ago. in the e-mail he reaches out to surviving members of a once top secret guerrilla group newman trained during the korean war. he's been held for more than a month. a fourth student at uc santa barbara has come down with meningitis. students there began getting sick about three weeks ago. one has had to have both legs amputated.

the strain of meningitis is similar to the one that sickened eight students at princeton university. kind of cool news here. singer billy joel will be a regular staple at madison square garden in new york city. kind of an unusual arrangement but joel struck a deal as the gard garden's first entertainment franchise. he'll have his own logo. he's set to play a show a month at msg for as long as fans want to hear him play. the run begins with four sold out shows starting in january of next year. apparently he told "usa today" that now he can kmut commute to and it takes out the schlepp factor. which i can relate to. >> after years of touring. >> what a gift to the city. >> i'm totally biased on this. billy joel is a local legend. >> wonder if it will work. all the first four shows, bam, sold out. >> we saw this happen in vegas.

celine did those -- >> it's awesome. >> you're going to go every month. >> as much as i can. as much as i can. >> he's going to take us. coming up next on "new day," amazing video of a volcano erupting in italy this week. you have to see this. bob dylan charged in france with inciting racial hatred in a rolling stone video. we'll leave you with this. >> america's teenagers are 30th in the world in math. yes. luckily america's teenagers will never understood the report because they're 85th in reading. but you know what, we're number one in candy crush, i have to say. r responsibly managing her card balance. before receiving $25 toward her balance each quarter for making more than her minimum payment on time each month. tracey got the bankamericard

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let's go around the world starting in north korea. a major leadership shake-up with the high profile leader ousting his own family member. cnn's paula hancocks has that from seoul, south korea. >> kim jung un, he may have ordered the public execution of two of his allies. this is a claim that cnn cannot independently verify. but if true, it is a major shake-up in a country that's currently holding two american citizens prisoner for what it calls hostile acts against the state. back to you, kate. >> now to italy where mt. etna has erupted again, believed to

be the 19th time it's done so this year. ben wedeman is in rome with the latest. >> reporter: just in case you were weary of the mundane concerns of mice and men, take a look at these images from mt. etna in sicily, yaurp's most active volcano. even more active after a third crater has opened, spewing fire and brimstone into the sky. all this sound and fury has a silver lining. volcanic ash has made the slopes of etna ideal for grape cultivation, producing some of the best wines in italy. cheers, kate. >> cheers to you, ben. thank you so much. bob dylan under investigation in france. could he face jail time for controversial comments he made in "rolling stone" magazine? jim bitterman has that story from paris. >> reporter: bob dylan responsible for inflaming racial hatred? hard to imagine but that's what

a croatian group is claiming after an interview in "rolling stone" magazine in which they claim dylan obliquely compared them to the ku klux klan and nazis. if he were to be charged and go to trial and found guilty, he could go to prison for a year and fined $56,000. the lawyer for the group says they'll drop everything if he'll just apologize. kate? >> jim, thank you, from one of the best views in paris. >> right? >> take you to florida. officials say wild bears are turning into a menace. a hunt is under way for one such bear, dangerous, the wild animal mauled a woman walking through her own neighborhood. cnn's john zarrella is in miami with more on this. >> reporter: chris, you know, wildlife officials here in florida are saying that this may in fact be the worst attack they have ever seen by a florida black bear. imagine this, a nightmare for a florida woman, she's walking her dogs in her neighborhood,

suddenly the dogs start barking and bolt. the next thing she knows, she's being attacked by a black bear. traps have been set, wildlife officers, biologists and sheriff's deputies are combing the woods around the community of longwood, north of orlando. they are trying desperately to catch a black bear that has become not just a nuisance but a danger. a woman identified as susan chelfant is attacked while walking her dogs. her face bloodied, she makes it to a neighbor's house. >> a woman's, i think, been mauled by a bear. she's bleeding. she needs immediate help. >> are you with her right now, steve. >> my wife's with her right now. we have her in the house. she's pleading for quick, quick help. she's in severe pain. >> reporter: she's going to be okay. neighbors say bears are no strangers to the community, which sits near wildlife conservation area. there's even a bear alert sign at the neighborhood's entrance.

they've been spotted in trees and here, one is just casually walking down the street broad daylight. they have become way too comfortable with the surroundings, says one resident, richard, who didn't want his last name used. >> there's an actual walkway of the bears between my home and the immediate neighbors. we see them on a regular basis, especially the night before garbage pickup. >> reporter: if home owners are not really careful with their trash, wildlife officials say it's a no brainer. the bears are going to keep coming. >> unless we get full cooperation with everybody in every neighborhood around here, the bears will come in for a free lunch. they're going to stay where the food is. >> reporter: unprovoked black bear attacks in florida are extremely rare. the first ever documented by the wildlife commission was last year. the problem, biologists say, is that people are now living in areas the bears once called home. and bears like to roam.

biologists have been capturing bears -- >> okay, we got home. let's back off. >> reporter: fitting them with gps collars and microchips to better understand their movements which inevitably means at some point they'll cross paths with people. so how do they know if they catch a bear that they got the right one? wildlife officials say they'll do dna testing, they can match fibers, hair from the bear or blood from the woman on the bear. if they get the right one, it is more than just likely that it will, of course, be euthanized. kate? >> the next level will be due process concerns about the bears and they'll start having litigation about it. as the habitats continue to shrink we'll have more and more problems like this that will happen. >> terrifying for that community. >> many like it, they're not going to be alone with this. let's get over to weather and talk about snow, indra. how much snow?

>> we've seen so much already, there's more of it. bigger concern will be the freezing rain threat as we go in through tomorrow. the snow, looking at heavy snow in through colorado, over a foot of snow is still possible and visibility very poor with icy roads for anyone trying to do a commute this morning. let's take a look at what is expected to happen as we move in through tomorrow. notice the systems where they are currently. as we look at tomorrow, thursday at noon, notice the pink. that's a wintry mix. our biggest concern is for freezing rain, that always translates that a lot of airport delays but also dangerous conditions, not only on the road but you think about power lines coming down, also think about trees. those limbs breaking off depending on how much of that ice you can get. thursday night, we look at that threat expanding. keep in mind farther north. more likely rain and sleet. southern portions of missouri back in through texas to see more of that it freezing rain. system stays us as we go in through friday. the northeast starting to see the light rain and looking for a

showered weekend. as far as the national weather service offices are putting off different amounts. there's discrepancy as to how much of the freezing rain we'll see. this is normal. we're not close enough to get a good handle on this. if you have plans as you go through the weekend, there's another system behind it. two chances to really get stuck and see a lot of damage, including power lines and power outages as we go throughout the weekend. the other side of the story will be the temperature drops. dallas today 80 degrees. notice friday, down to 31 degrees. same thing little rock, goes from 70 down to 32 degrees. we're talking about temperatures a good 30 to 40 degrees below normal. you want to talk about the dangerous side of this, notice the temperatures below freezing. when you add in the wind chill in through tomorrow morning, bismarck, negative 31. denver tomorrow morning, negative 14 degrees as they are trying to go to work. a lot of dangerous conditions out there temperaturewise and of course on the roads. >> thanks, indra. coming up on "new day," new

information in the crash that killed actor paul walker and his friend. more video showing that moment of impact, raising questions. also, why autopsy results have been put on hold? and she's now the highest ranking woman at the pentagon but did you know she's also the inspiration for tom cruise's girlfriend, the flight instructor in "top gun." ? much more on that, ahead. ♪ you've lost that loving feeling ♪ o drive. well you know that beats great mileage or being fun to drive. yeah, that'd be like someone being loud or clear. we need to slap the slippery fish right in the gill hole! happy time feed bag! frog face! cement leg! that's weird. i like "and" better. yeah. "and" is better. the twenty fourteen ford edge. only ford gives you ecoboost fuel economy and a whole lot more. go further.

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my friend. we have the real-life top gun story in just a moment but first, a quick check of sports headlines in this morning's "bleacher report." you knew missing the playoffs for the first time in 19 years wasn't going to sit well with the yankees. this time around, they're steeling jacoby ellsbury is way from the red sox. they reportedly signed him to a seven-year, $153 million contract, the fourth largest deal in yankees history. ellsbury will have to shave his beard. the yankees have that no facial hair policy. warriors, raptors games looked like a snoozer. toronto it a 27-point lead but golden state mounted an epic comeback. they used a barrage of threes to outscore them in the fourth quarter. they came back to get the win,

112-103. it was the seventh biggest comeback in nba history. trending on bleacherreport.com, think of inviting your favorite athlete to a wedding? that's one what couple did with peyton manning. they got a handwritten response. manning respectfully declined but did give them a pretty cool autograph. i know you're a big yankees fan but they spent $240 million on ellsbury and mccann this offseason. what do you think. >> peanuts, got to give to get. >> this just shows what a great guy he is, peyton manning. >> he's not on the coals anymore. >> i can still love peyton manning. >> this is plain humanity. >> it's because he played for the colts. there we go. she's the most powerful woman in the pentagon. her name is christine fox. she's been named acting deputy secretary of defense. but get this, nearly three decades ago she was the inspiration for the character

played by kelli mcgillis in "top gun." remember this scene? ♪ but baby believe me i know it ♪ ♪ you've lost that loving feeling ♪ ♪ whoa that lovin' feeling >> what is real and what is fiction? christine romans is here with that. once again, christine fox breaking barriers by getting this post. >> this is the coo if there were such a title of the department of defense, the highest ranking woman ever working at the d.o.d. she's somebody who comes with a little bit of celebrity. she's the inspiration for the kelly mcgillis character from "top gun." she was the inspiration but there are differences. she is a mathematician, charley was an astrophysicist. they called her legs, she had a nickname legs.

you could hear her coming in the top gun training school because you could hear the heels clicking on the pavement, something which was unusual then. >> are there more similarities? why was she chosen for the character? >> it's a great hollywood story, these super macho guys fighting in fighter jets, here's this smart mathematician woman telling them what to do. she told people she wasn't in there lecturing the fighter pilots. listen to this clip. i'll tell you what is fact and what is fiction. listen. >> hard cross, i could immediately go to guns on them. >> but if it's speed is too fast. it's a little bit too aggressive. >> too aggressive? yeah, i guess when i see something, i go right after it. >> sweet move. >> that was a good movie.

>> smooth. >> she said she never really lectured the pilots. she was more likely to be talking to the guy in the back seat, she had to know his weapons, she was the science, the math, the defense of what was happening in the planes. >> blah, blah, blah. but does she say i never had anything happen like what happened in the movie. >> that's all hollywood. >> she was a straight arrow, a genuine straight shooter. >> most recently she made news, believe it or not, she's against the sequester. she was running budgets over at the department of defense. she says it is dangerous to think sequester doesn't matter. she's very well respected, highly regarded, really knows how the pentagon works. >> decidedly less interesting when you talk about the movie. >> that's true. sequester, i fell asleep. "top gun," yes. >> remember this guy, trick shot

titus? >> he's been working on his game. >> making various shots from a building in spain as high as seven stories. even joined about i a couple of special guests. he got up close and personal with bradley cooper, channing tatum. >> i want to see it. go, to do it, do it. it's a great compilation if you need a pick me up. that's your "must see moment" today. >> never looks at any of the celebrities. he's focused on the game, thinking about the next shoot, looking off into the distance. >> be the ball, titus. >> i'd just like to make the shot. i'll start there. coming up next on "new day," startling revelations about the deadly train derailment in new york. the engineer admitting to nodding off just moments before the accident. does that happen more often than we think? we'll take a look. people don't have to think about

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i don't know his actual state. i know there was a lapse. shocking admission. new this hour, industry experts on the changes that could have prevented this accident. happening now, a brutal snow and icemaker slamming the rockies and upper midwest but it's set to move south and east, making for a nasty couple of days. we're tracking it all. frequent complainer, is this man the most demanding customer in america? his repeated complaints have now gone all the way to the supreme

court. will his explaining make your service better? he joins us, live. your "new day" starts right now. >> announcer: what you need to know -- >> we may never satisfy the law law's opponents. i think that's fair to say. >> announcer: what you just have to see. this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. good morning, welcome back to "new day," it is wednesday, december 4th. 7:00 in the east. we have new developments for you in that deadly train derailment in the bronx. the investigation revile veals brakes were fine and the driver admits being in a days moments before the accident. also broking overnight, the ntsb removed the rail union from the investigation for violating confidentiality rules.

nic robertson is in the bronx overlooking the crash site with much more. good morning, nic. >> reporter: good morning, kate. the ntsb says the association of commuter rail employees did break the confidentiality agreement to be part of the investigation into this accident. they say that because their representative came along, talked after the ntsb press conference, it wasn't so much what he said but the sort of things he was explaining and the insights he wassive gooding. they have excluded that union from being part of the investigation. we heard from the lawyer of the train engineer and he has told us that the engineer actually had a good night's sleep before the derailment. we have a major train wreck, five cars on its side. >> reporter: we're hearing, for the first time, from the

firefighters as they arrived on the scene of the deadly train derailment in the bronx. this morning, new details about the man at the controls. the train's engineer, william billy rockefeller, his union representative saying he was nodding off and caught himself too late. >> he's extremely distraught over it and he feels for the families. >> reporter: in the minutes after the derailment, according to a senior law enforcement source, rockefeller told first responders, going along and i'm in a daze. i don't know what happened. ntsb investigators say that ten-year veteran driver was on the second day of a five-day shift. >> the day was a typical nine-hour day. these days were routine days. there's every indication he would have had time to get full restorative sleep. >> reporter: his lawyer says he went to bed at 8:30 p.m. the night before and got up at 3:30 a.m. that his client had a good night's sleep and is cooperating in every way. >> i think it takes a strong man to come down and be honest. that's what billy's doing.

>> reporter: on the question of the brakes, rockefeller had initially claimed, according to a source, that they didn't work. >> we determined that the metro north mechanical department performed a proper brake test prior to the accident train leaving the station. and there were no anomalies noted. >> reporter: the federal rail administration is expressing serious concerns about metro north's recent series of accidents. in a letter to the head of the mta saying, four serious accidents in less than seven months is simply unacceptable. the engineer's lawyer is telling us, as well as his union representative saying it's been very emotional, realizing exactly what has happened and the full weight of responsibility. but his lawyer does stress this is purely, purely an accident. chris? >> all right, nic, thanks for the reporting.

let's bring in peter goles, senior vice president of o'neil and associates. thanks for joining us this morning. i want to start first with what ended that piece, this letter about there being four accidents in seven months and that being too many. is there a bigger issue here. >> i think that's what the fra is pointing to. if you go back a month ago, the ntsb held a hearing on one of metro north's earlier accidents and frankly, there was disturbing testimony from a metro north executive talking about how they had fallen behind in this case on track maintenance and on other key safety standards, so i think the letter was well intentioned and it was dead on. four accidents in seven months is unacceptable. >> i want to get to what the driver, we believe, is saying about having basically nodded off before this. following up on that point, when you look at this accident and

why it happened, is this an example of things that need to change, putting the driver aside? >> well, we have an aging rail system in most cases. and if we're going to have rail service for passengers, we better start making investments in it, so that passengers are safe. and this is, i this i, an example of part of the problem. >> all right. now i know there are things you believe can be done that should be done. we'll get to them in a second. let's get to what the driver says. he says he nodded off. what is the reality of what you've seen with people operating trains and nodding off and whether it's played a role in accidents before? what's your take? >> of course it's played a role in accidents before. fatigue is an insidious issue, because it's not easily documented. it tends not to have a high priority on the part of either management or on the part of the

operators, the unions, because you get -- sometimes you get paid extra for working later or working longer. so it is a tough issue. i think management has started to focus on it but it really is a personal responsibility of the operator, to make sure that they understand the detrimental affects of fatigue and are able to call themselves off a shift if they're not ready to do it completely. >> so now as difficult as it may be for this driver to come forward and admit something like this, putting it on his schollers that that's what this situation was about, there are things put in place that we're not sure if they were used here. tell me about the dead man's pedal, tell me been an alerter and what they mean and why they weren't used in this situation. >> there are a number of devices that can be used inside the cab. there's a dead man's hand, which is if you release pressure on the throttle, the train slows

and stops. there are alerters that can monitor your eye movement, your head movement, that can indicate if you're starting to doze off. there are in-cab facing cameras that can indicate, that give an added incentive to operators to pay attention and to do their work. and there are other, you know, low-tech solutions to this problem. buttal real issue is a broader policy on fatigue itself. >> so that's something they need to address, obviously. you're saying you've seen this before. to be clear, the dead man's pedal, was there one in there and was it not used in this accident? >> my understanding that there was a dead man's stick but i have no idea whether it was used or whether it was, you know, perhaps disabled. i have no information on that. >> is it relevant in the investigation of why this happened? >> i think you have to look at

all aspects of it, so it is relevant. >> when you look at, what are the major things we should take away from this situation? all we want is to make sure it's safer the next time. what do you think has to be done. >> one of the steps we have to take is to look seriously at positive train control. that is the automated systems that can help prevent these kinds of accidents. congress passed a law telling the railroads to implement it by 2015. that's easier said than done. the u.s. has a very complex system in which you have multiple operators with different equipment running on the same rails. if we're going to have positive train control, the government has to be serious about it. and there's got to be resources applied so that this kind of system can be put in place where it's needed quickly. it's not really -- it's not something that can happen

overnight. >> if you need it, you couldn't have better motivation than this, mr. goles, four families that lost everything, all these victims. can't put a price on that. this is change that needs to happen. fair statement? >> it absolutely is. >> mr. ggoles, thank you for yor perspective. >> thank you. the storm in the rockies is making its way east. the temperatures are sinking drastically in some areas. anna cabrera is following the deep freeze from boulder, colorado, this morning. anna? >> good morning, kate. a bit of a shock to the system to the folks here in colorado when you consider we saw 60 degree temperatures on monday here. now we have 3 inches or so of snow on the ground in boulder already this morning. it's that light, fluffy stuff because of the extreme cold temperatures. we're talking 14 degrees in boulder right now. and it's not expected to get

above freezing until sometime next week. the national weather service calling this possibly the longest stretch of extreme cold weather colorado has seen or will see since 2009. of course colorado is not alone. this arctic air mass spreading across more than a dozen states as it makes its way south from canada across the rockies, over the plains and up into the midwest. i guess if you're going to have to deal with the extreme cold and the snowy conditions, the old saying misery loves company, at least we're all not alone and we can be in this together, after all, it is wintertime. in many places, the moisture and snow is a welcome sight, especially the ski resorts, chris and kate. >> it means one thing in colorado, opportunity. let's go to indra petersons. as this snow moves into areas that aren't ski resorts, this could be a problem. >> we have the positive and the negative side of this. the winds kick up, bringing

visibility in many places below a quarter mile. more snow on the way, also the dakotas and in through minnesota as well. the real story is going to be as the system continues to make its way to the south and east, especially tomorrow, will be the threat of that wintry mix. that is where the pink is. the reason that's a big deal, you're talking about the threat of freezing rain. there you go. in southern portions of missouri all the way back in through texas. as i take you farther into thursday and thursday evening, notice how the whentry mix spreads into the ohio valley. farther to the north, most likely sleet but back down to the south end of this is where we're concerned here. keep in mind as we go through friday, this system will be progressing farther to the east. as far as how much freezing rain, this is the key, whether or not it will be an ice storm. if you get half an inch of that freezing rain on the power lines with be they will weigh 500 pounds. that's the concern as we go in through this weekend.

michaela? >> thank you. the headlines now, vice president biden is working to smooth over relations in the far east. he's in china for talks with leaders amid tensions that are rising with japan over disputed islands. let's go to david mackenzie, he's in beijing with the latest. >> reporter: there was a warm welcome here but a frosty reception potentially from china's leaders. obviously this is all coming as china announces its air defense identification zone around two weeks ago which it says allows them to monitor the region, monitor military planes over a disputed area with japan. he criticized china for the zone saying it could be dangerous. it could lead to an uptick in tension and accidental start of a conflict. biden is here, he's met with the vice president and the president. but there's diplomacy going on now here in beijing where he'll

try to ease this tension. he really is walking a tight rope during this trip. michaela? >> many eyes on those meetings. thank you very much, david. the white house says it is prepared to negotiate a limited nuclear enrichment program for iran but iran is to hold its end of an international bargain. it has to cut back its nuclear capabilities and accept rigorous monitoring along with certain limits. the white house cautioned that the program applies only to the nation's peaceful energy needs. new this morning, authorities in mexico say a truck containing dangerous radioactive material has been stolen that truck was transporting the source used in medical treatment from a hospital in tijuana to a radioactive waste storage center before it was stolen near mexico city. the international atomic energy agency has been alerted and an investigation is under way. the 911 tapes from the newtown school shooting will be released later today, just days

before the one-year anniversary of that shooting. a judge ruled last week to make those tapes public, affirming a freedom of information request. a want to show you this amazing rescue of three deer stranded in the middle of a frozen lake in minnesota. a couple of employees from a local hovercraft company tried to coax the animals to leave. the men themselves slipped. smartly, they tied a rope around them and slowly dragged them to safety back to the edge of the lake one at a time. you can't really maintain your dignity. >> how did they get out there? >> really far. it seemed like a good idea at the time. >> they just watched bambi. >> exactly. >> very cool of these guys to take the time and at the same time show the capability of their hovercraft. >> a genius idea there. that's the concern, right? if you go out there with a

snowmobile -- >> where's the hover? then it's just a craft. >> coming up next on "new day," president obama looking to turn the tide for his health care law. will it be enough to restore faith in obama care? brand new vudio surfaces of the crash that killed actor paul walker and his friend. it's raising new questions for authorities why walker wasn't able to make it out alive. and saw the lumia 1020 has 41 megapixels. so i can zoom way in even after i take the picture. and i can adjust the shot before i take it so i get it exactly how i want. so, i went with a windows phone. maybe i just see things other people don't. ♪ honestly ♪ i wanna see you be brave ♪

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welcome back to "new day." the white house in the middle of a full-court press over obama care. the president is pushing the benefits of the law every day for the next few weeks, now that the obama care website appears to be working better. meanwhile, former president clinton is clarifying comments that seem to put him at odds with the president over the law. brianna keilar has more. >> reporter: president obama focusing today on getting young people covered under the affordable care act as his administration tries to turn the page from that troubled website. one road block down, partially anyway. the path ahead is still uphill. >> every day i check to make sure that it's working better. and, you know, we've learned not to make wild promises about how perfectly smooth it's going to be at all times. >> reporter: president obama kicking off another push to sell his signature health care law to a skeptical public. >> i need you to spread the word

about the law, about its benefits, about its protections, about how folks can sign up. tell your friends, tell your family. >> reporter: as the white house spends the next three weeks trying to convince americans there's more to obama care than the fumbled rollout, a powerful ally talked to cnn espanol. >> i don't think you can find anybody in america who's worked harder for his re-election or supported this bill or went out of his way to explain the bill to the american people more than i did. >> reporter: former president clinton smoothing over lingering tension from this. >> the president should honor the commitment the federal government made to those people and let them keep what they've got. >> reporter: when he publicly urged obama last month to keep his promise about his health care law. for clinton, the issue hits close to home. >> i have a lot at stake here personally in the work i have done for health care and the work i've tried to support, the support i tried to give the president and hillary does, too. we've been working on this

health care thing for 20 years. >> reporter: today president obama will be focusing on young people, as i said, he'll deliver remarks at a youth summit on the affordable care act. chris and kate, young people are very key to this whole program working. they are healthier, so they're less expensive to care for. it's key to have them in there so they can offset older, less healthy, more expensive folks. >> absolutely right, brianna, coming to us live from the white house lawn this morning. thank you. a new video shedding more light this morning on the death of actor paul walker and the very first minute after that car crash. the "fast & furious" star and a friend were killed in that fiery wreck, you'll remember, this weekend. casey wian joins us now with much more into the investigation on just what went wrong. >> reporter: new video showing that it took a full minute for the speeding car that actor paul walker and his friend were in to explode. after it crashed, raising new questions about how they died. >> chilling new video showing

the crash that killed actor paul walker and his friend, roger rodas. at the moment of impact you can see a light pole and tree fall. smoke is feign thely visible at first then begins to billow heavily. it took 60 seconds from the first signs of the crash to the intense smoke it's. >> it's that 60 seconds of no smoke, no fire, in that porsche carrera gt, when they were in the vehicle, unable to get out. the autopsies are complete but not being released because of a security hold. investigators continue to search for answers about what caused the accident. they say they have not found any evidence of a fluid leak from the car at the scene which could have indicated that the car became difficult to control. >> a stealth mission, we'll be in and out before they even know

we were there. >> reporter: shooting on the film had been scheduled to resume this week but was canceled monday and tuesday. the studio declined to say when shooting would resume. devoted fans continued to grieve at the makeshift memorial, lining the street with mementos of the star. >> i'm glad every time i saw him i told him i loved him. he said the same thing to me. >> reporter: the walker family has not made plans for a memorial service. they issued a statement expressing thanks for the outpouring of love and goodwill from his many fans and friends. they've asked fans to show their support by donating to his charity, reach out worldwide. paul founded the organization with the genuine desire to help others and it's important to his family to keep his memory alive. universal pictures announcing tuesday that a portion of the proceeds of the upcoming home release of "fast & furious six"

will be donated to walker's nonprofit. >> two families lost their loved ones, always important to remember. i want to show you something really cool. take a look at this. the space x falcon 9 rocket blasted into space tuesday after two previous attempts were scrapped because of technical glitches. this launch is being hailed a game changer why? the price tag. this is a commercial venture. it's tens of millions of dollars cheaper than previous government-fund launches. here's the goal to get this ses-8 communications commercial satellite into orbit and they'll settle it into a stable point about 22,000 miles above the earth in the coming weeks, which is pretty interesting. this spectacular photo was tweeted out taken from the rear of falcon 9. this fixed location where they'll have this satellite will allow users on the grounded to

link up to that satellite with cheaper, inexpensive antennas instead of the big, gigantic expensive ones that have to track the satellite across the sky. new, cool developments i like to share here on "new day." >> view from earth, 8,000 miles. >> just 8,000. no biggie. tomorrow we're going ten. >> yes, i love to use the word science but it really matters. >> it does! >> space x represents the future. as the government gets out of the space game, who will pick up the slack. >> elan musk is trying to. almost as good as science. the startling admission from that train engineer, nodding off at the controls. how often does that happen? what can be done to stop it? why hasn't that the been done. ryan o'neal is fighting in court for a famous portrait of the late actress farrah fawcett. he says he's the rightful owner.

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you're watching "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. welcome back to "new day." it's december 4th. hope you're having a good morning to far. coming up in the show, one man's complaints have made it all the way to the supreme court. will his case make your service better? we'll get his take. we'll talk to him live. plus, another courtroom battle, this over an andy warhol portrait of farrah fawcett. ryan o'neal says it belongs to him but fawcett's alma mater

says not so fast. william reck feller told officials he nodded off and caught himself too late. meanwhile, officials have found nothing wrong with the train's brakes. temperatures are in a freefall. we're talking 40 to 70-degree drops in 24 hours across much of the central and western u.s. by tomorrow, temperatures across parts of montana, wyoming and the dakotas, expected to hit between 10 and 20 degrees below zero. brrr. the mother of a murdered ohio toddler known as baby elaina and her exboyfriend have been sentenced to life in prison. she entered the equivalent to a no contest plea in her death. her exboyfriend pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, explaining

how he smothered that little girl to death. yasser arafat died of poisoning, an investigation began after a report last year that said traces of radioactive polonium were found on his clothing. palestinians have suspected israel of poisoning him, which israel for its part denies. dick cheney weighing in now on the conflict between his daughters over same-sex marriage. >> we're surprised when there was an attack launched against liz on facebook. and wished it hadn't happened. it's always been dealt with within the context of the family and frankly that's our preferences. you might recall the conflict began a few weeks ago when liz who was running for senate in wyoming said she supported traditional marriage,

despite long contending she supported her sister mary's same-sex relationship. the capital christmas tree is sunshining bright in washington. the tree was lit for the first time last night. it is decorated with 5,000 handmade ornaments. it's an 88-foot tree, the second tallest ever at the capital. >> beautiful. >> you've seen it in person. it must be breathtaking. >> my drive when i was in washington every morning and evening, i'd drive right past it, especially when i was working in the capital. >> it's one of the few times you live in washington when you take a moment to go, that's cool. i live in washington, d.c., i get to drive by this every day. that's a neat moment. i like that. the deadly train crash to get you an update, the settling administration from the engineer in the new york train derailment that he was nodding off begs the question how often does something like this happen? here's cnn's chris lawrence with more. >> reporter: a stunning admission from a union rep, the

engineer in the metro north train crash was sleepy. >> what he will tell everybody today is that he basically nodded -- you nod out and you catch yourself. i think we've all done that. >> reporter: william rockefeller was only a few hours into his shift when the train crashed. rockefeller has ten years experience and told investigators he was in a daze, a feeling described by other experienced train engineers. >> we just kind of zone out. >> reporter: david wrangle runs the nation's premiere railroad training school. where potential engineers get six months of classroom and hands-on experience. >> we have seen some railroads that will certify locomotive engineers in as little as 40 hours, which is kind of scary, in my mind. >> 2107. >> reporter: wrangle says that days sometimes comes from switching night shifts to day. like rockefeller did a few weeks

ago. >> so my sleep schedule is thrown off. i have a hard time forcing myself to get to sleep. >> reporter: but rockefeller's attorney admitted he slept seven hours and was only on the second day of his schedule. federal regulations mandate engineers cannot work more than 12 hours. they must get a minimum 8 hours off between runs. engineers are usually alone on their routes, but some say companies should put a co-pilot in the cab of passenger trains. >> someone to help keep the other engineer alert and attentive. >> you could have cameras in the cab on the train. >> reporter: former transportation department inspector general mary schiavo says people work differently when they're being watched with. >> that would be another incentive for the persons in there to look sharp, to stay away. >> reporter: in this latest crash, new questions are being raids about whether the

government and railroads are doing enough to regulate the people who drive our trains. chris lawrence, cnn, washington. an ugly battle over a warhol painting. that's the late actress farrah fawcett. we all know her. the painting may be worth $30 million. long-time boyfriend ryan o'neal says it's his. the university of texas says, nope. i'm beth... and i'm michelle. and we own the paper cottage. it's a stationery and gifts store. anything we purchase for the paper cottage goes on our ink card. so you can manage your business expenses and access them online instantly with the game changing app from ink. we didn't get into business to spend time managing receipts,

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so the snow is always beautiful, yes, but there's a whole lot of it. let's get to indra and find out where it's heading and what you need to prepare for. >> colorado, great for the ski resorts but we have those terrible driving conditions. of course travel conditions will be getting worse as we talk about the threat of freezing rain over the next several days. first let's talk about how much snow we are still expecting. 1 to 2 feet of snow still possible. hot spots around colorado and minnesota and the dakotas today. let's take a look at the system and where it is expected to go in through tomorrow. it will start to make its way farther south and push off to the east. pause this, right here thursday around noon. this is what we're concerned with. we start talking about that wintry mix, yes, that could be sleet or freezing rain.

it's the freezing rain we're concerned about as we talk about southern portions of missouri and back in through texas. we take you further in through thursday evening. that extends into the ohio valley. we'll have huge concerns here as we go forward into time, even as we go through the weekend. we'll still be talking about the system. here's what we're worried about. it's the freezing rain. i mentioned that. half an inch is all it takes to bring the power lines down. notice the national weather service offices, a lot of variety here. either way, definitely most likely an ice storm is expected. even once the first passes, another wave will pass through as we go in through later portions of the weekend. power outages likely, tree limbs down with this ice storm. second side of the system, notice dallas goes from 80 to 30 on friday. >> we'll keep watching it. thank you. a rabbi is taking it to the

man and the case has gone all the way to the supreme court. rabbi binyomin ginsberg flew an average of 75 flights a year with northwest airlines. they're now delta, right? the airline stripped him of all those miles and benefits saying the rabbi complained too much. 24 times in 7 months according to the airline. that's how many there were. the question becomes can the airline really do that? the rabbi is here to tell us more. thanks for joining us this morning. >> thank you, chris. >> i'm a lawyer. i can talk about how this got to the supreme court, state versus federal. what's interesting is why this happened in the first place. you fly a lot. you're a teacher. you work in min men and you fly around a lot. what got you in trouble? >> i'm really not sure. i much have touched a button. there was speculation about when northwest was in the process of merging with delta they had too many people at the higher end. >> meaning you have a lot of

miles and status because you fly so much. >> yes, you get free tickets, upgrades and they're supposed to make your life more comfortable. >> you were complaining, you say they asked me for my feedback and i gave it. anything excessive about what you did? >> i don't believe so at all. i think i did exactly what they wanted. they should have said thank you for giving us this feedback. >> after you traveled they'd send a customer survey saying how was your trip? anything you'd like to change? is that where the criticism came? >> they basically say give us your feedback. if you go online, for example, they'll have an area where you can do comments, compliments, criticisms, concerns. now, what one of the things, which is interesting to me is the airline didn't say how many number of compliment cards they got. >> did you send those as well? >> again, as a whole, i had great experiences. the flight attendants were very courteous.

some of the things they have to go through with other passengers, obviously not with me, was really something that i considered them heroes. pilots have a difficult job. it wasn't a broad issue. they were selected incidences that i felt wasn't going to change my situation, i felt the airline should know about. >> after they took aware your status and miles, your original goal was to get that back. i've earned this, racked all of this up. now you've gone all the way to the supreme court. h has your goal here changed? >> my goal has changed in a way. now i'm not dealing with my own personal issue. they took my miles. i consider that a crime. okay? i had something, i earned it. give it back to me. when i started getting the reaction from so many citizens, thank you, you're taking this where it has to go. i had no anticipation. i have better things to do with

my time than dealing with these legal issues. it's been fascinating but that's not what i enjoy doing. >> what do you say to northwest, now delta, or the folks who have labeled you the biggest complainer in america today? >> i guess they are the biggest complainers. >> they took it to the supreme court, not you, just to be clear. this gets complicated. the airlines lawyers are worried about state regulation and that's where this case started. it was contract law. we had a deal, you're taking my miles, you're breaking the deal. do you feel they were suspicious of you running a scam on them? >> not at all. you have to understand, chris, how these things work. i would never complain on ground. let's assume there was an issue that was on ground. i know one point i think there was conflict between the baggage

handlers and some union issues. and allegedly they specifically delayed when the baggage would come out. >> sure. >> i wouldn't voice that complaint to the baggage handler. okay? but the next day i would politely call up in a calm way and say i want to let you know it was disappointing, i had to wait "x" amount of time. >> they sent you a letter saying we've giving you "x" amount of dollars, tens of thousands of miles, enough already. >> no, that's not what happened. >> what happened? >> if they would have done that, i don't think we'd be talking now. they came and said we took it away. no warning. no indication. even if they would have said you are obviously not pleased with us, you probably don't want to fly with us anymore. there was no sense of anything. >> nothing leading up to it to make you sense there was an issue with them at all. >> not at all. >> it came oust the blue. >>? totally.

when i would call to voice an issue, i think they made it appear that i was demanding something for it in return for that issue. when i would call, i would speak to a customer service rep who was probably taught make sure the customer feels good. usually midsentence they would interrupt me and say as a gesture of goodwill we'll give you a couple of miles or voucher for some reduced fare on your next flight. was i wrong for taking that? >> no. >> rabbi, the supreme court will decide by next spring, it's understood. what is your flying experience like now? are you flying delta or are you no delta? >> i fly -- i fly with any airline that will take me where i have to go the most convenient way. i live in duluth, minnesota, which is a phenomenal experience. i never had to call them with a complaint. i would if i had one. >> it wouldn't change.

>> no. >> why does this resonate? the supreme court plays gravy on this. it goes to what airlines can do to us. doesn't it? you work, get this status and it turns out there's fine print somewhere and they're going to yank it all away from you. it goes to heart about what bothers a lot of people. >> i would think the average american had a bad experience with flying. the problem is, most of that is not controlled by the airline. you know, whether there's turbulence or they have to fly around, whatever it is, today was a security issue with waiting in line. those are not the fault of the airline. but i think people say there are enough that they're doing it wrong and they should be held accountable for this. >> you certainly have got a lot of people thinking, you know, i want to stand up for myself, too. it's generated conversation online, i'm sure. >> we'll check back in with you when the supreme court has its say. thanks so much, rabbi, great to

meet you. coming up on "new day," a legal battle over an andy warhol portrait of farrah fawcett, why ryan o'neal is taking on a university over that piece of art. an amazing behind the backboard shot at a celtics game and it was intentional. how did bradley pull it off? look at that. (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities.

welcome back. it was a tough night for sports fans in boston, but maybe this will help you. check out the shot from last night's celtics game against the

bucks. he throws up an air ball with the shot clock running down. here we go. air ball. what happens? avery bradley didn't give up. behind the backboard, a wild shot just as the buzzer goes off. was it planned or was it just happenstance? i don't know. >> i used to practice those. >> just so we know, bradley finished 15 points, celtics won 1 108-100. >> the key to the shot, looking like it was no big thing. >> he wasn't like -- >> you just have to be like i to do it all day. >> that was good. want to tell you about a courtroom battle under way over a multimillion-dollar andy warhol portrait of farrah fawcett. the question is who owns it.

actor ryan o'neal says it belongs to him, but faucet's alma mater says she gave it to them. he said/she said. who does it come down to? who had it last? >> i'm not really sure here. we'll have the lawyer. but it is a feud where both sides are saying there is no room for interpretation here. the university of texas at austin is suing o'neal they say to take back what rightfully belongs to them. it's a hollywood custody battle unlike many others. a fight over this portrait. an original andy warhol of the late actress farrah fawcett. fawcett's former lover actor ryan o'neal who lived with the actress for years says the portrait belongs to him. the painting at the center of this trial hangs above his bed at his malibu beach house. as seen here in the reality show the o'neals. but fawcett's alma mater the

university of texas at austin is suing o'neal saying the portrait is theirs, that fawcett left to them after her death in 2009. >> is his story believable? is that's going to be crucial. we're only hearing about this through the experience of ryan o'neal. he's the sole survivor. andy warhol can't testify, farrah fawcett can't testify. >> reporter: o'neal took the stand on monday saying he, quote, removed the painting a week or more after she died from her condo. o'neal says the portrait of the iconic charlie angels star was above his bed when fawcett caught him between the sheets with a 25-year-old woman which led to hair breakup in 1997. he says he removed the portrait and returned it to fawcett because his, quote, young friend was uncomfortable. the portrait is one of two similar prints warhol created in

1980. hiding o'neal's lawyer believe the suit is financially motivated. >> the university of tooekts ofh over $50 billion, aren't they happen? >> o'neal just wants to pass down the heirloom to their son which a los angeles jury will have to decide. >> ryan o'neal has that argument that this is for their son. and that is powerful. that is priceless motivation. >> so o'neal was the first witness to take the stand monday followed by a high end mover who handled both warhols. he's a television producer who worked with fawcett on her reality show. o'neal is the not expected not that time the stand good. the portrait could be worth $30

million. ly legally does he have a leg to stand on? >> this all comes down to why you need writings.legally does stand on? >> this all comes down to why you need writings.legally does stand on? >> this all comes down to why you need writings.egally does h stand on? >> this all comes down to why you need writings. if the initial painting was gifted from andy warhol to both of them, i wonder if they filed -- >> that's what ryan o'neal alleges. >> did you file it in your tax return? but is there any paper, anyway to show that. no. so he so we move to the next. the giving of the property of the to the university. paper usually tells the story. but this gets complicated because what does it mean to whom. the legal right versus what is right do in the situation may enter in. >> interesting. >> once you get to court, it's tough. interesting story. boy do we miss farrah fawcett. coming up on "new day," a

celebrity chef is in court battling it out with two sisters claiming they stole millions from her. we have details from london as the drama unfolds. and a powerful winter storm is dumping snow on parts of the country and millions waking up to frigid temperatures. we'll be tracking all of it for you. i mean, look at it. so indulgent. did i tell you i am on the... [ both ] chicken pot pie diet! me too! [ male announcer ] so indulgent, you'll never believe they're light. 100-calorie progresso light soups.

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take deep breaths. avoid bad weather. [ whispers ] get eight hours. ♪ [ shouts over music ] turn it down! and, of course, talk to farmers. hi. hi. ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum - bum ♪ happening now. winter coming on strong. a huge snowstorm blanketing the rockies and upper midwest now moving south and east toward big cities that aren't used to snow and ice. highway hypnosis, the engineer behind the deadly train

tee railment admits to nodding off just moments before the crash. how big of a problem is this. and a celebrity chef defending herself against being a could yaccusations that she's addicted to cocaine. we're live with the latest. >> your "new day" continues right now. welcome back. it is wednesday, december 4. dangerous weather is gripping the nation's midsection. extreme temperature swings in denver and little rock, heavy snow hampering driving conditions. and the system is moving. anna cabrera is tracking the frigid temperatures from boulder, colorado. >> reporter: good morning, you can see the snow still falling and the temperature continues to

drop, as well. we brought out our unofficial temperature gaming and you can see already we're dipping below 20 degrees. official p itemperatures in the teens and sink gill dingle digi we're expecting a deep freeze to set in making what could become the longest cold stretch colorado has seen since 2009. the homeless shelters of course opening up including some of the emergency shelters to help people get out of the cold. the snow creating other challenges for drivers in particular. we saw i-70, the main east/west corridor that goes through colorado shut down for parts of yesterday because of accidents up in the mountains and the dangerous conditions that drivers are having to deal with. and this is a system that is widespread. it's not just colorado that is really feeling the impact, it's crossing through the rockies, across colorado, across the plains up into the midwest, down into the south.

some dozen states or so experiencing this arctic air mass and again expected to sit around a little longer. >> all right, thank you so much for that. a beautiful scene behind you. but let's get the latest on the track of this winter weather. >> a lot of people expected to get really uncomfortable. tons of snow expected in colorado again today. additional foot of snow possible if not over a foot. also out towards minnesota, same thing. we'll be talking about heavy snow in the region. but the biggest concern remains to be the freezing rain or an ice storm. notice where you see the pink, southern portions of missouri extending back through texas. thursday evening, you notice it expands all the way up to the ohio valley, most likely the farther north you are, possibly just sleet. farther south, the threat of freezing rain. even through the weekend, we still have the threat. so if we have the power outages, keep in mind there is a second

wave even after the break of saturday and sunday of another ice storm potential out there. also the big story will be the temperatures. dallas goes from 80 to 31. but billings goes from 5 to negative 10 when they should be in the upper 30s. this is a dangerous situation. look at these temperatures in the rldly morning hours. we're talking about negative almost 30 degrees bismarck. even through denver tomorrow morning they will be waking up to negative 14 degrees. so the temperature is dangerous. >> a fast dip. thanks. breaking news overnight for you in the deadly rain derailment in new york. ntsb kicking the rail union out of the investigation for breaking confidentiality rules after a union representative told cnn that the train driver apparently nodded off. nic robertson has the latest. >> reporter: we're hearing for the first time from the firefighters as they arrived at the scene of sunday's deadly

train derailment in the bronx. this morning new details about the man at the controls. the train's engineer you can william billy rockefeller. his union representatives saying he was nodding off and caught himself too late. >> he's extremely distraught over it and he feels for the families. >> reporter: in the minutes after the derailment according to a senior law enforcement source, rockefeller told first responders going along and i'm in a daze, i don't know what happened. ntsb investigators say that ten year veteran driver was on the second day of a five day shift. >> the day was typical nine hour day and these days were routine days. it was every days that he would have had time to get full restorative sleep. >> reporter: his lawyer says he went to bed at 8:30 p.m. the night before and got up at 3:30

a.m.. that his client had a good night he'd sleep and is cooperating in every way. >> i think it takes a strong man to come down and be honest. and that's what billy is doing. >> reporter: on the question of the brakes, rockefeller had initially claimed according to a source that they didn't work. >> we've determined that the metro north mechanical department performed a proper brake test prior to the accident train leaving the station and there were no anomalies noted. >> reporter: and now the federal rail administration is expressing serious concerns about metro north's recent series of accidents. in a letter to the head of the mta saying four serious accidents in less than 7 months is simply unacceptable. >> thank you so much for that update. let's have a closer look at what the union rep and the engineer's attorney said. let's bring in elizabeth cohen for that. so they're talking about nodding

off or that the skrengineer was a daze. is this the same thing? is it just a matter of being exhausted? >> it's actually not a matter necessarily of being exhausted. people think of it as a one or two kind of situation. you're either awake or you're asleep. but there is something sometimes a little bit in between where parts of your brain might kind of switch off and so you seem awake, but for example for any one of us, we could put sugar in our coffee and we put salt in instead or you go to put the milk in the refrigerator and instead you put it in the freezer. so little parts of our brain can go off line just for a matter of seconds, but it can be very problematic. >> and his attorney also said that he had a good night's sleep. i want to get your take on how you think that plays into this. because he also says that this is because of highway hip knoyh. what do you think of it? >> highway hypnosis is where you're driving and you're driving and you're driving, a

train or often you hear it in regards to a car. and it's monotonous. you've done it many times and nothing bad has ever happened and you start to fall into a daze. you become sort of hypnotized. and it can happen whether you're fatigued or not fatigued. so there is some debate about the role of fatigue here, but it's a matter of monotony. >> and despite fatigue, we should say again the mtsb has been clear they said they have not established what was the cause behind the crash, but we'll be looking for that in the days to come. elizabeth, thank you so much. let's take a look at our headlines at this hour. right now vice president joe biden is in beijing meeting with china's president. biden is trying to smooth relations following china's declaration of control over disputed territory.

biden says it could lead to an uptick in tension or start of a conflict. the obama administration is prepared to allow iran engage in a limited nuclear enrichment program, but that appla plplies only nenergy needs. the obama care website woes may be in the past, but the hearings continue. four scheduled today in washington as the president tries to resell his signature legislation to the american public. tuesday former president clinton told cnn he is a full supporter despite comments he made last month challenging the president to honor his words and let all americans hold on to their insurance if they want to. two skydivers were killed, a third injured when they collided in midair. the parachutes collapsed and that sent them plummeting to the

ground. the first person thought to be the first driver to get a ticket for wearing google glass has pleaded not guilty. cecilia beatty is charged with speeding and distracted driving. her defense? there is nothing illegal about simply wearing google glass when it is not turned on. however when she looked up at the officer, her glasses were activated. >> she said i wasn't looking at them while i was driving. >> have you seen anybody wearing them not? >> i will not be wearing them. >> i will. >> like you need more to distract you. coming up, the 911 calls from the shooting at sandy hook. what if anything should be done with them? we're live with reaction from people there. and a massive hunt happening now after a rare bear attack in florida. police have released the 911

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join today. welcome back. today seven 911 calls placed from inside sandy hook elementary school will be made public. next week is the first anniversary of the massacre there that left 6 staffers and 20 children dead. now, a connecticut state attorney tried for months to shield families from the tapes

arguing they shouldn't be released, but now those families must brace for a painful remi reminder of that day. pamela brown is here following the situation. what do we expect to happen today mechanically? >> well, at 2:00 p.m. eastern, those recordings will be released. they're expected to be nearly half an hour, seven 911 calls made inside sandy hook elementary school will be in those recordings. the longest call from a custodian inside the call lasts more than ten minutes. these are just calls made to newtown police. the calls made to state police will not be released today. but this is very difficult for the families. the timing of the release of the calls with the anniversary right around the corner, with it being the holidays. in fact the superintendent e-mailed the families and warned this could be an emotional trigger. and he said like you, i haven't listened to them and it could be

dig difficult. >> the law usually comes out this way in these situations. the real question is discretion. what are you hearing from the families about their concerns? >> i just got off the phone with the father of daniel barden. he says we don't want to hear them, i hope my children don't have to listen to that. this is a unique case and deserves unique treatment. s's unfortunate they weren't able to see that. and he said he'll work hard to do everything he can to protect his kids from having to listen to that. and he also says he believes the potential harm of having the children listen to this outweighs any defineable good that could come out of this. >> it get s tricky when the matters in question are no longer in dispute, so the calls don't shed light on what you're still trying to figure out. anything in there about what they hope for from the media, any pleas from the families to the media about this? >> bottom line is i think that they're just going take the

necessary steps to avoid the media and protect themselves and do everything they can. when you look at the other side of this, the freedom of information commission in connecticut and the judge both ruled that these recordings should be released. >> the law is pretty clear and the judge made an interesting point. he said when you don't release things like this, maybe in some questions remain, maybe it undermines confidence in law enforcement and that was the policy that the judge believed motivated the law in the first place. but very tough for the families. big sensitivity issues. >> and the court recognized the sen sensitivity. >> thank you, pamela. let's turn to florida now where there is a hunt under way there for a dangerous bear after it mauled a woman in longwood. attacks are rare, but now authorities are warning that those attacks are on the rise. john zarrella is live in miami with the latest. what are you learning? >> reporter: you're right, they are rare.

but this one wildlife fiofficia may be the worst they have seen. imagine a woman out walking her dogs, suddenly the dogs start barking and bolt. next thing you know, she's attacked by a black bear. traps have been set, wildlife officer, biologists and sheriff's deputies are combing the woods around the community north of orlando. trying to catch a black bear that has become not just a nuisance but a danger. a woman identified is attacked while walking her dogs. her face bloodied, she makes it to a anybody's house. he calls 911. >> a woman's i think been maluld by a bear. we have her in the house. she's pleading for quick, quick help. she's in severe pain.

>> reporter: she'll be okay. neighbors say bears are no strangers to the community which sits near wildlife conservation area. there is even a bear alert sign. they have been spotted in trees and here one is just casually walking down the street in broad daylight. they have become way too comfortable with the surroundings says one resident, richard. >> there is an actual walkway of the bears between my home and the immediate neighbor's. we see them on a regular basis especially the night before garbage pickup. >> reporter: if homeowners are not careful with their trash, wildlife officials say it's a no-brainer. the bears are going to keep coming. >> unless we get full cooperation with everybody and every neighborhood around here, the bears will come in for a free lunch. they will stay where the food is. #. >> reporter: unprovoked black bear attacks in florida are extremely rare. the first ever documented by the wildlife commission was last

year. the problem biologists say is that people are now living in areas the bears once called home. bears like to roam. biologists have been capturing bears. >> we got him. let's back off. >> reporter: fitting them with gps collars and micro chips to better understand their movements which inevitably means at some point they will cross paths with people. so if they catch a bear, how do they know they have the right one? they will do dna testing, match blood or bear fibers, hairs on the victim. so there are ways to do that and of course if they get the bear, it will be euthanized. but you can imagine just how bold these bears are. you saw that video of the one just walking down the street in broad daylight. they absolutely have no fear. >> sure seems like this at this point. thanks, john. >> looking for food. habitat shrinking. let's take a break here.

oh, that joe. vice president joe biden is in china trying to lower tensions. but he's also raising eyebrows. we'll tell you what he said ahead. and dramatic new testimony from a celebrity chef responding to allegations that she used cocaine and she's not mincing words. farmer: hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer. and our giant idaho potato truck is still missing. so my dog and i we're going to go find it. it's out there somewhere spreading the good word about idaho potatoes

and raising money for meals on wheels. but we'd really like our truck back, so if you see it, let us know, would you? thanks. what?

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at raley's, bel air, and nob hill. welcome back. it is wednesday, december 4. coming up, a remarkable story of innocence and redemption. the truth finally set michael

morton free after 25 years behind bars. he will tell us how he survived all of it. >> and vice president joe biden in china trying to diffuse a dangerous situation there. but it's his comments on everything else that is making headlines this morning. let's give you the five things you need to know for your new day. the ntsb kicks out the train union from the investigation into the deadly new york train train derailment. a union rep had said the engineer nodded off and that comment violated con if i shality rules. heavy snowfall hampering road conditions. extreme cold gripping the nation. the man accused of killing a tsa agent is due you in court today. the 23-year-old could face the death penalty. president obama is putting a renewed focus on the income gap.

he will give a speech to argue his case that income inequality and wage stagnation are threatening upward mobility and retirement security. the holiday season will be in full swing tonight. the rockefeller center christmas tree will be lit for the season. 45,000 l.e.d. lights will illuminate the 76-foot tree. we're always updating the five things to know, so go to cnn.com for the latest. dramatic new testimony this morning from lawson. her two former assistants are accused of fraud, but the most explosive details are about lawson herself. she says her ex-husband would destroy her if she at any time appe didn't appear and she faces questions about alleged cocaine use. erin, what happened in court today? >> reporter: well, earlier today she arrived at the courthouse, dressed in black, her face

expressionless amids the flash bulbs. she threatened how her former husband threatened to destroy her if she did not give evidence that the trial and come back to him and clear his name. that of course following their public breakdown of their marriage which happened earlier in the year. she also talked about how it was difficult for her to appear at this trial saying, though, a that she felt it was important to to for their children, saying at times she felt it was as if she was on trial when of course in actuality the defendants are her former personal assistants. prosecutors allege that those two former assistants spent over a million dollars fraudulently on company credit cards. the defendants deny the allegations saying lawson knew about their spending habits and

alleged her habitual drug use. lawson will take the stand to answer the allegations. they are adjourned to lunch and we expect her to continue to testify. >> every story has at least three sides and this one certainly does. what is her husband's response? >> reporter: well, her former husband charles testified on friday. during that testimony, he talked about an e-mail that he september to lawson in october. in that e-mail, he alleges that lawson used drugs daily, marijuana and cocaine. and allowed her assistants to spend at will. though he clarified that e-mail in his testimony saying that he was very upset when he wrote it, heartbroken in fact over the break down of his marriage and that he was merely speculating as to the defense. and he also said that he had at never any point in time seen

lawson do drugs. >> all right, erin, thank you. appreciate the reporting. keep us in touch with what happens there when she gets back this afternoon. it is important once again to point out she isn't on trial. she is, though, in the midst of defending herself against these allegations of drug use. we'll bring in joey jackson. it's interesting to hear what erin just said, that she feels like she's on trial. the allegations from her ex so potentially damaging. they can really damage her brand and her empire. >> what happens is that -- and i'm guilty of it, too. what you do on trial is you put the victim on trial. because what you want to do from a defense perspective, it's often used, you want to shield your client and you want to bring to late allegations about the other. but at the end of the day, it's about character and it's about courage. is she able on that stand to really connect with the jurors and connect with everyone else when you look at the larger picture which is about her brand and about her future. so it depends on how she does.

but by all indications, she did very well. >> in terms of her brand, that seems to be the big thing that is the question mark for her. but the allegations of cocaine and marijuana use, that's not part of this case. would could she face any problems with that, any legal trouble with that even though it was brought up during something that had nothing to do with it? >> i don't think she'll face any legal problems herself. i wouldn't foresee in the future her being prosecuted about anything. but it goes to the point of her branding. so it really depends in large measure how she handles this. because people like human beings. even though you're a celebrity, if you're relatable, if you have issues and problems like them and if you can overcome them and have frank about them, i think it could relate to people. but the defense will attack her credibility on the grounds of you're a drug user, aren't you. but so far she said no. and she's been very successful. books and her show and

everything else. she's overcome a lot already. >> so if you put the lawyer hat back on, if they're making allegations about her drug use, she says it's not true, in london, is the law the same as here where she could now sue for saying that she uses drugs? why the united states, that's a slander automatically. >> it is. and you know that when it comes to defamation, because it's about character, and what happens is defamation lawsuits are out there to protect the integrity of the individual. because you don't want people saying things that are salacious, that are untrue and that will be in-injurious to your reputation. so it depends how much she is damaged. you can argue she may be enhanced as a result of what happens here depending pop how she handles it. more people could focus on her show and read her books.no0pop how she handles it. more people could focus on her show and read her books.op how she handles it. more people could focus on her show and read her books.p how she handles it. more people could focus on her show and read her books.p how she handles it.

more people could focus on her show and read her books.p how she handles it. more people could focus on her show and read her books.p how se handles it. more people could focus on her show and read her books.onp how she handles it. more people could focus on her show and read her books. how she handles it. more people could focus on her show and read her books. so the result is you make more money. >> so do you think this will have a side effect of other famous people out there are going to be reluctant to pursue lawsuits because they know all this kind of dirt could potentially come out in a very public and embarrassing fashion? >> it's troubling because you don't want your neighbors to know what's going on if it's a negative thing. now think about the world knowing exactly what is happening. and so it's an individual thing. but remember david letterman and when he came out about the extortion issue against him. he knew that there would be damaging things about his personal life. but at the end of the day, he overcame that and said you're not exporting me, i'm going to get justice. right? >> he also did something very uncommon, he jumped on the allegation. remember when they had the ones about his extramarital, he came out and said, yep. very unusual. when people want to keep things hidden, they do it. >> it's one thing to say yep and

jump on it really quickly, but another thing when people aren't going to believe you when you say, nope, i didn't do it. >> that's true. but here she is -- i think she has enough sense abilities and she testifies very well. she's a figure she's written books, she has her show and everything else and it depends ultimately how she handles it. >> she may be sitting down with oprah. joey, thanks. coming up next, vice president joe biden now in china trying to smooth things over. but some of his comments seem to be inviting more criticism. we'll tell you about his potentially latest slip. imagine spending 25 years of your life behind bars for a murder you didn't commit. sounds like a fantasy all too real for a man named michael morton. we'll talk to him about how he

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thanks. what? morton. big bad winter storm is on the move and indra peterson knows where eitherit's going. >> pretty much everywhere. it will make its way into the midwest as early as tomorrow. already seeing a foot in colorado. minnesota, still talking about some of the heavy snow, as well. but let's talk about the change that will affect so many of us as we move in through tomorrow. let's look at the system right now. watch it progress to the east. i stopped it tomorrow at noon for a reason. we're looking at the wintry mix here. southern portions of missouri back in through texas. where we have the threat for freezing rain, we're talking about very difficult conditions

on the road and air and the threat of power outages. notice later into thursday, we still have the threat with us and it expands all the way into the ohio valley. either way, it stays with us even as we go towards the end of the week. and if you have that freezing rain, if you have half an inch of freezing rain on those power lines, that will take the power lines out. it weighs 500 pounds. national weather service offices, a lot of variety as far as the amounts that is typical. but either way, you need to know the threat of the ice storm is in the forecast. even when the first system clears out, as we go through the weekend, a second system bringing the threat all over again. it looks like we'll have trouble all weekend long. and of course the temperatures another big story. a good 50 degree drop. right now vice president is

in china. beijing and tokyo at each other's throats over disputed air space. biden delivered carefully remarks in support of japan, but kret ti critics say he also put his foot in his mouth. >> he said the vice president is using careful language? that's not always easy for the vice president. there is no question this is a hugely important trip for u.s./chinese relations, but also a very important trip for vice president joe biden. >> the united states loohas an interest in the lowering of tensions. >> reporter: vice president joe biden where he wants to be. in the global diplomat tick spotlight trying to turn down the volume on an increasingly noisy territorial tug of war. the vice president was in tokyo where long time ally japan along with the u.s. is pushing back against china's move to set up a restricted flight zone over disputed islands in the east

china sea. >> this action has raised regional tensions and increased the risk of accidents and miscalculation. >> reporter: but in what critics might call biden being biden, the vice president also made some comments that raised a you few eyebrows to this group of professional women. the question in political circles back home is if he runs for the top job in 2016, will it be by dep the experiencididen t politician or the occasional gaffe machine that emerges. >> i've known him for years and years and i have a very high opinion of him. i care a great deal about him and i think he's done a good job for the president and for the country. >> reporter: if hillary clinton runs again, she would be the overwhelming frontrunner for the

democratic nomination. but if she doesn't -- >> if he runs and he's the nominee, i'll try to help him win. >> reporter: and if that happens -- >> so i want to parse what he said because it's always fun to parse bill clinton's language. he is not saying that he necessarily wants joe biden to be the nominee. what he is saying is that if joe biden is the democratic nominee, he would support him. which you know isn't exactly going way, way out on a limb there. >> exactly. whoever is the democratic nominee, i think he'll back him or her for that matter. >> her for sure. we can stipulate that. >> regardless, it will be a big deal as joe likes to say. >> joe likes to say a lot more than that. >> but he kind of reminds you of former president bush. a lot of people say that is a folksy charm. he has to balance that with what you want out of a leader.

but makes him interesting to cover. coming up next, 25 years of your life gone for a murder you did not commit. michael morton knows what that feels like. you how he survived it in his own words coming up next. and this woman wins the lottery, doesn't know it, but somebody did and they track her down in a way you won't believe. so does she get the money? big question. we have the answer. people don't have to think about

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welcome back. 1987, michael morton convicted of the brutal murder of his wife, crihristine. a quick trial. sentenced to 25 years. even lost contact with his only son. then dna evidence proved that morton had claimed all along, he was innocent. this story we're bringing you you comes ahead of a new cnn film. we sat down with michael to get the story in his own words. take a look. >> when i first got to texas penitentiary, the first thing they do, they strip you naked and search you. as i was standing in line to get my boots, i noticed the guy in front of me, i counted 13 stab wounds in his back. >> at just 32, life as michael morton knew it was over.

his wife gone. his family gone. his dreams gone. he was now a murderer and his reality was prison. his new life goal, to survive. >> i am probably the personification of that old axiom that you can't prove a negative. how do you prove you didn't to something. >> reporter: morton was trying to prove he didn't beat his wife christine to death on august 13th, 1986. there was no evidence placing him at the crime scene and no murder weapon. his 3-year-old son who witnessed the murder even told police daddy didn't do it. but that statement and other details excluding morton didn't come out until years later. while he remained locked up. >> how rough was it inside? >> i never liked it. but i got used to it. >> how long did it take you? >> probably 14 or 15 years.

>> 14 or 15 years. >> to get where i was used to it. >> are the first years the hardest? >> the first years are hard just because it's a shock and it's new and it's assistants adjustment, stachbt constant recalibrations. >> what he missed most was his son, eric, who was growing up without him. >> what did your son mean to you? not just as a son. he had to represent things to you, ideas, over the course of this journey. >> yeah, my son for me, he ended up being more than just my child. as i began losing pieces of myself, my reputation, my assets, most of my friends, as those things diminished, my

son's importance rose just if nothing else supply and demand. >> and how were those visits? >> to me, it was just i'm a starving man looking at food on the other side and i'm just eating it up and it's great and wonderful. i've since found out he's looking at me as this guy that really doesn't exist in his life. somebody he just sees once in a while. >> as he started to grow upped a wanted distance, how did you deal with that and what ultimately did it lead to? >> he suspended the visits and eventually when i found out that he had changed his name legally and been adopted, few things are as powerful to a parent as the abject rejection of their child. >> morton always maintained his innocence and on the outside, his attorneys hadn't given up on his case. >> i don't keep the files of all the cases i've tried. i kept michael's file.

michael's case was different. on almost every level, particularly an emotional level with me. >> i cross-examine people for a living. i have a pretty good sense of when somebody is lying to me. not always, but most of the time. there was nothing about this man that didn't speak to actual innocence. >> finally in 2004, progress. attorneys for the innocence project began working with morton. and they thought they had a chance. you say i always thought that i would get out. what fueled the hope? >> it's difficult for me to say whether it was just faith that i knew i was right and i wasn't guilty that this would work out or just that i didn't know how deep i was in. >> then came the breakthrough. a request for dna testing on a piece of evidence that would eventually unravel the case against morton.

>> the texistence of the bandan. >> it was huge. everything turned on that little square piece of cloth. it's only a big deal when you can step back and look at the whole picture and fights the impulse to say, oh, my god, there it is. >> it really sucks you will in. and there is a lot more about how he was there, whose dna they would find, what it would lead to. it is really one of the most compelling stories of its kind i've ever covered. and something that we didn't put in there. i talked to him about amanda knox because he was convicted in part because of something she suffers from as well. when he shows up at the scene, it was the '80s, so there wasn't as much communication. he shows up, the sheriff looks

at him and he's calm. he's stoic. >> not reacting the way people expected. >> people took it the wrong way. it was the wrong feel for him in court. and i asked him about that and he said the same thing that amanda knox said to me. you don't know how you're going to react. i can't say that the way that i did it -- i was trying to hold it all together everything. defending myself, losing my wife, losing my family, losing my dreams. i didn't hoe hknow how to react. >> the thing that is have a ordinary about this, too. he may are gained his freedom, but he lost everything. he lost his son, he lost his wife forever. >> 25 disbelief factor. you get in there and you think this doesn't happen in reality. i didn't do this. this happens in the movies and it's happening to him. >> and you'll get to hear tomorrow the things that he says turned it for him. what allowed him -- and it's not

as simple. oh, he must have found god. yes, but it's not as simple as that. it's powerful for him, but he is different. i kept asking him were you you always this deep? >> he seems so calm. he seems so unaffected. >> which is very misleading because emotionally, he has been through a journey that i would not wish on anybody. but to hear him tell his story about how he made it through, what changed his case and what would happen with the relationship with his son. that's the biggest piece of it. >> much more to come. >> tomorrow the cnn film is an unreal dream. the michael morton sorry. it will air thursday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. >> we've been talking about that federal bailout, right? the federal bankruptcy. a federal judge has ruled detroit is eligible for bankruptcy. now thousands of former city employees could lose their benefits in all this will. and that includes retired firefighter brendan malewski.

here is today's human factor. >> reporter: you're listening to the actual 911 call from august 13, 2010. >> we need everybody here now. >> reporter: a day that began like any other, but would that would containing brendan's life forever. >> i remember we were working on the facade of the building and somebody had yelled some sort of caution. and the bricks were kind of raining down in front of my face. and you're taught to run toward a collapse, but your human instincts take over. i thought i had it beat is what caught up to me. >> reporter: brendan knew right away his career as one of the detroit's bravest was over. brendan now spends three hours a day three days a week here at the rehabilitation institute of michigan working to make the

most of what muscles he still has control over. >> walker height okay? >> there are days when i question whether or not i'm okay mentally, but to me it's simple. i learned early on that i have a voice through this and i have something to say and i have a message. as much as i hate that it's me and my story, i think that it's something we need to open up people's eyes to. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn reporting. >> another tremendous story. all right. coming up here on "new day," some bright news. not going to feel that way, but listen to this. woman wins the lotto. doesn't know it. year goes by. so sad, right? not in the place known as canada. we'll tell you what our neighbors to the north did. this is a heavy dose of the good stuff coming up. [ male announcer ] here's a question for you.

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this comes courtesy of canada. here if you buy a winning lotto ticket and don't claim it after a certain amount of time, you're out of luck. there they actually come find you. that is exactly what happened to katherine jones.

she purchased a ticket, wound up being a $50 million winner. she loses the ticket. didn't stop the lottery from pulling out all the stops to find her. >> through our transactions database, we determined that the time, date and location of the purchase, we obtained store security video which clearly shows the identified winner purchasing the winning ticket. >> if you can't identify from the accent, what he's saying is that they had this database, she find her. so officials go her house and tell her the good news and get this, she almost didn't open the door. >> we weren't sure we wanted to let them in the house. we weren't sure who they were. >> this similar wouldn't have been possible a number of years ago. technology and our own ability to both look for people who shouldn't be winners and in happy cases to find people who should be. >> i love it. all right, america, don't let canada best you on this one.

>> i think that's a good system. >> a great system. i think she thinks it's a great system, too. >> she's staying in canada. a lot of big news for us. don't forget those 911 calls from newtown are coming out, so let's send you right over to carol costello. >> have a great day. newsroom starts now. happening now, arctic blast. >> anytime you have a snowstorm like this especially with cold temperatures, there will be ice, snow pack. >> temperatures plummeting 50 degrees. >> freezing. it was horrible. >> ice, freezing rain and heavy snow, a massive storm stretching from maine to texas. also, dazed and confused. >> i think that he had a great likelihood to be completely asleep. >> brand new details of the bronx train